§ 404.1810. Expediting benefit payments.

(a) General. We have established special procedures to expedite the payment of benefits in certain initial and subsequent claims. This section tells how you may request an expedited payment and when we will be able to hasten your payments by means of this process.

(b) Applicability of section. (1) This section applies to monthly benefits payable under title II of the Act, except as indicated in paragraph (b)(2) of this section; and to those cases where we certify information to the Railroad Retirement Board.

(2) This section does not apply—

(i) If an initial determination has been made and a request for a reconsideration, a hearing, a review by the Appeals Council, or review by a Federal court is pending on any issue of entitlement to or payment of a benefit;

(ii) To any benefit for which a check has been cashed; or

(iii) To any benefit based on an alleged disability.

(c) Request for payment. (1) You shall submit to us a written request for payment of benefits in accordance with paragraph (c)(2) or (c)(3) of this section. Paragraph (c)(2) of this section applies if you were receiving payments regularly and you then fail to receive payment for one or more months. Paragraph (c)(3) of this section applies if we have not made a determination about your entitlement to benefits, or if we have suspended or withheld payment due, for example, to excess earnings or recovery of an overpayment.

(2) If you received a regular monthly benefit in the month before the month in which a payment was allegedly due, you may make a written request for payment any time 30 days after the 15th day of the month in which the payment was allegedly due. If you request is made before the end of the 30-day period, we will consider it to have been made at the end of the period.

(3)(i) If you did not receive a regular monthly benefit in the month before the month in which a payment was allegedly due, you may make a written request for payment any time 90 days after the later of—

(A) The date on which the benefit is alleged to have been due; or

(B) The date on which you furnished us the last information we requested from you.

(ii) If your request is made before the end of the 90-day period we will consider it to have been made at the end of the period.

(d) Certification for payment. If we find that benefits are due, we shall certify the benefits for payment in sufficient time to permit the payment to be made within 15 days after the request for expedited payment is made, or considered to have been made, as provided in paragraph (c) of this section.

(e) Preliminary certification for payment. If we determine that there is evidence, although additional evidence may be required for a final decision, that a monthly benefit due to you in a particular month was not paid, we may make preliminary certification of payment even though the 30-day or 90-day periods described in paragraph (c) of this section have not elapsed.